International Customs Day 2023
In observance of International Customs Day, the WCO’s theme for 2023 is “Nurturing the next generation: promoting a culture of knowledge-sharing and professional pride in Customs.” This theme is very relevant to the Customs fraternity in the region and the CCLEC is committed to working with member administrations to build capacity in keeping with this goal.
Customs is a complex organisation with multi-facetted functions and responsibilities that are often misunderstood and underestimated even by business leaders, government officials, and the general public. Most people tend to focus on the revenue collection role, which invokes emotional responses from those who are required to pay border taxes on importation. In this region, customs duties are relatively high compared to more developed and emerging countries, and in some instances represent over 50% of the annual revenue yield in some of our smaller economies. Governments have become very reliant on Customs and VAT for financing a major part of annual budgets. Notwithstanding the above, it is important to point out that the mission of Customs in today’s context includes a fiscal element (revenue collection) an economic element (implementing government policies), and a protection and security element (law enforcement and compliance). All three aspects are intrinsically linked to international trade. [1]
Those charged to perform the duties of a Customs officer must be well trained, knowledgeable of various legislation, regulations, directives, and administrative instructions. They must also be equipped with the necessary tools to effectively and efficiently carry out those duties.
I wish to take this opportunity to extend greetings to all member administrations as we usher in the New Year. 2023 will be a pivotal year for the Caribbean Customs community as we work together to restore our position on the regional landscape particularly in law enforcement, contributing to border security, efficiency in trade matters and effective revenue protection and collection.
Congratulations to the Customs fraternity on this special day which has been designated as International Customs Day by the WCO. This year the chosen theme, “Scaling up Customs Digital Transformation by Embracing a Data Culture and Building a Data Ecosystem,” is very fitting as the pandemic has acted as a most powerful catalyst to force many countries to accept technology as a fundamental part of their business culture.
In the interest of building capacity, the CCLEC has commenced a train-the-trainer program, in collaboration with UWI Open Campus to develop the training skills of a cadre of regional officers. The main objective of the program is to equip officers with pedagogic skills to become professional trainers within their departments. They will also serve as trainers for delivering CCLEC online courses among member countries. The acquisition of skill, knowledge, and expertise provides the basis for the efficient and effective management of the operations of any organization. With limited resources to hire external experts, it is especially significant for small developing countries to develop their skills and become less reliant on external support.
The Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC) celebrated its Forty Third Annual Conference via video conferencing during the period June 2nd – 3rd 2021.
In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the La Soufriere volcano is located at the northern side on the island. After effusively erupting since December, 2020, it explosively erupted on 9th April, 2021 and continues to erupt explosively emanating clouds of ash throughout the island. It also generated pyroclastic density currents along the north western and north eastern valleys of the island. Thankfully, there has been no confirmed loss of lives. Nevertheless, it has left the island gloomy and desolate in some areas.
The Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council laments the abduction July 10th 2020 and subsequent slaying of Antiguan Customs and Excise Officer Nigel Christian. The brazen and brutal manner of his abduction and killing has left the Antiguan, Caribbean and International Customs community in shock.
The Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC) continues to monitor regional and International Organization’s status reports, national policy statements and preparations to manage the Coronavirus outbreak already plaguing several countries worldwide.
